"I have a strong feeling about interesting people in space exploration.... And the only way it's going to happen is to have some kid fantasize about getting his ray gun, jumping into his spaceship, and flying into outer space."

George LucasCreator of Star Wars

For over 100 years, science fiction stories and films have stimulated the imaginations of many scientists in the forefront of discovery, encouraged young people to choose the sciences as a career, and shaped our visions and expectations of future space travel. Among all of these science-fiction tales, the Star Wars film trilogy has proven to be a very special inspiration.

Star Wars is especially memorable because its story of spacefaring pilots and their daring escapades is based on an ancient form of mythology--the "hero's journey." Underneath the flash and dazzle of special effects is the magic of myth, a shape-shifting realm where heroes, monsters, wizards, and magic talismans dwell in labyrinths of discovery. This exhibition examines the mythology beneath the Star Wars story, a hero's journey that takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away...."

Star Wars: The Magic of Myth was inspired by Joseph Campbell's story of the "hero's journey" presented in Hero With a Thousand Faces, and by comments on the Star Wars films in the book and video series The Power of Myth.

In mythology, the hero's journey begins with the "call to adventure." Destiny's herald is usually someone or something fairly ordinary--a frog, a deer in the forest, or in this case a humble droid--that carries an important message for the one who is prepared to receive it.

As the Star Wars story begins, a battle in space rages between the evil powers of darkness (the Galactic Empire) and the forces of good (the Rebel Alliance). Princess Leia sends a plea for help to Jedi Knight Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi on the planet of Tatooine. The hand of Fate, in the form of Jawa traders, brings her message to Luke Skywalker, a young farmboy. When Luke sees the message hologram, he is drawn into a quest to rescue the Princess and ultimately to save the galaxy.

Often the inexperienced hero finds that he cannot proceed without supernatural aid, in the form of a "wise and helpful guide" who provides advice and amulets to further the quest. Ben serves as such a guide and gives Luke a special token--a lightsaber that once belonged to Luke's father.

Ben also interprets the Princess's message and tells Luke about the spiritual power known as the Force. Luke resists the call to adventure, but when he finds his home burned and his family killed, he joins Ben on the journey to Mos Eisley spaceport to obtain transportation to the planet Alderaan, the home of Princess Leia.

A hero first must encounter "threshold guardians," beings who block the way to the adventure. Luke faces threshold guardians when he is attacked by the Tusken Raiders. He is rescued by Ben.

The hero must leave his familiar life behind to begin a journey from childhood to adulthood and to a life-transformation. The Mos Eisley spaceport is Luke's threshold to the adventure. Here he encounters danger, but he also finds a hero-partner in the form of Han Solo, a pirate and smuggler. Han's faithful first mate is the enormous Wookiee Chewbacca--helpful animals often appear in myths and fairy-tales, symbolizing the power of the hero's instinctive nature.

As they travel from Tatooine to Alderaan in the Millennium Falcon, Ben begins to train Luke in the ways of the Force.

A labyrinth has always symbolized a difficult journey into the unknown, and in one way or another it is often incorporated into tales of the hero's journey.

When the heroes arrive in the vicinity of Alderaan, they find that the planet has been destroyed by the Death Star, a gigantic Imperial space station. The Death Star is a technological labyrinth--a maze of hallways, passages, dead ends, and bottomless trenches.

Like traditional knights, Han and Luke don armor to accomplish their first hero deed--the "princess rescue."

The next step in the hero quest is a challenge to mortal combat. The heroes experienced an initial rite of passage in the Death Star and accomplished the "princess rescue." Now Leia leads Han and Luke to the Rebel base to plan an attack on the Death Star. Luke joins the fighter pilots of the Rebellion. As he puts on his uniform, he puts aside his youthful identity and assumes a new role--that of a heroic pilot, ready to sacrifice his life for his cause.

In the end good triumphs over evil, and the heroes are recognized for their deeds of valor. This moment is the end of one adventure, but it also represents the start of the next stage--further initiation on the "road of trials."

Midway through the hero's journey comes a long and perilous path of trials, tests, and ordeals that bring important moments of illumination and understanding. Again and again along the way, monsters must be slain and barriers must be passed. Ultimately the hero must undertake the fearful journey of the descent into darkness.

Although the Death Star has been destroyed, the powers of darkness have not been conquered. The Empire has pursued the Rebels to the ice planet of Hoth, where the heroes face new dangers from predatory creatures and the harsh climate and are forced to flee during an Imperial attack.

One particular mythic motif is the "swallowing up" of the hero by a large monster. This represents the entry into a mystical world where transformations occur, and the eventual escape represents a spiritual rebirth.

Han and Leia are pursued by Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE fighters as they leave Hoth. To escape, Han flies the Falcon into an asteroid "cave," which turns out to be the mouth of a huge space slug. Here Han and Leia at last open their hearts to love.

Vader also undergoes a change at this point, when he emerges from an egg-like meditation chamber. The Emperor appears to him through a holographic message, and Vader is revealed as a slave to the evil forces of the Empire, rather than as their master.

The "sacred grove" is another mythic motif; it represents an enclosure where the hero is changed. Ancient peoples widely believed the tree to be infused with creative energy. Forests came to symbolize mystery and transformation, and they were home to sorcerers and enchanters.

When Luke leaves Hoth, he travels to the planet Dagobah to undergo training with the Jedi Master, Yoda. The hallmark of Dagobah is its large, oddly shaped trees.

Forests can also symbolize the unconscious mind, where there are secrets to be discovered and perhaps dark emotions or memories to be faced. In this forest Luke battles an image of Vader, prefiguring his combat with the Dark Lord later in the story.

The danger of illusion is symbolized by Cloud City above the planet Bespin. At first the city appears transcendent as it floats among the clouds, but it has a dark underside that becomes a crucible of pain and betrayal for the heroes.

Vader follows the Falcon to Bespin and then lures Luke there to entrap him. Han is captured, put into hibernation in the carbon freeze chamber, and taken away by bounty hunter Boba Fett to be delivered to Han's former employer, Jabba the Hutt. Han's friend, Lando Calrissian, who betrayed Han to Vader, will undergo a life change and begin his own hero journey.

The opening of the mind and heart to spiritual knowledge requires a sacrifice from the hero.

At this difficult and dangerous place on the hero path, Han and Luke both reaffirm the meaning and importance of their lives by their willingness to sacrifice themselves.

Luke has tried to follow in his father's footsteps as a heroic pilot and Jedi Knight. The dark, unknown side of his father--and of himself--is now unveiled as Luke confronts Vader in the dark byways of Cloud City. Vader reveals to Luke that he is his father. Luke realizes that he must sacrifice himself, rather than become a tool of evil like Vader.

Leia rescues Luke as he falls from the underside of Cloud City, and when Vader calls to Luke through the Force, Luke acknowledges him as "Father"--they have begun to move toward reconciliation. Luke has recognized the dark side of himself as part of his destiny, and Darth Vader has begun his own journey toward transformation.

The hero's journey sometimes includes a "father quest." After many trials and ordeals, the hero finds his father and becomes "at-one" with him. This process is called "atonement."

The "hero's return" marks the end of the "road of trials." The hero must return from his adventures with the means to benefit his society. Luke comes home to Tatooine to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt. This is not an easy transition for Luke; his new-found abilities as a Jedi Knight are doubted by friend and foe alike.

As the story continues, all the characters undergo changes: Han is resurrected from his carbonite tomb, Lando makes up for his betrayal of Han by helping to rescue him, and Leia assures the end of Jabba's reign of tyranny by destroying him herself.

While the Rebels continue to struggle against Imperial tyranny, the Empire is constructing a new Death Star. A final confrontation must now take place. The forces of good, represented by Mon Mothma, leader of the Rebel Alliance, and those of evil, led by the Emperor, regroup to plan their strategies.

Luke discovers that Leia, who has guided and supported him throughout his journey, is his twin sister. In many ways she represents his positive "anima," the personification of the feminine aspects of his psyche. He also finds that he must confront Vader again. Yet when they make mind-to-mind contact through the Force, Vader appears uncertain rather than aggressive--a sign that he is beginning a transformation.

The heroes are not the only ones who can undergo change and rebirth. The forces of Evil can also recoup their power and grow with new strength.

The Ewoks of Endor prove that heroes can come in any size or shape. They battle the high technology of the Empire with logs, stones, and vines. Their lush green environment and harmony with nature make a warm contrast to the cold, austere technology of the Empire. The Ewoks help the Rebels deactivate the Death Star's energy shield generator, so Lando can fly into the Death Star and bomb the reactor core.

Meanwhile, Luke realizes that he must set out on a different path from his friends to attempt to reach that part of Vader that is still his father and to turn him back from the dark side.

The inhabitants of an "enchanted forest" can be both dangerous and helpful. The hero must know the right magic to evoke their protective powers.

The heroes must at last enter the "heart of darkness," the fortress of Evil itself, to destroy its stronghold.

When Han and Leia finally destroy the energy shield generator, Lando and Wedge fly into the Death Star to fire on the reactor core at the center of the space station. While conflict rages around the Death Star, Luke struggles with the dark forces within the Death Star, where he is undergoing a spiritual conflict in his battle of wills with the Emperor.

In his confrontation with Vader and the Emperor, Luke wins not through his warrior skills, but through an appeal to his father's heart. It is Vader who slays the Emperor to save his son.

At the climax of the Star Wars trilogy, Vader asks Luke to unmask him. Masks are frequently part of mythic ritual. They can strike fear into the hearts of enemies, summon ancestors, or invoke supernatural beings.

Vader's mask is part of his demonic persona. The dropping of the mask represents Vader's release from the imprisonment of his role, a release that comes for him only at the moment of death. Yet this gesture is also an affirmation of life, the final opening up of father to son.

The destruction of evil is not always accomplished by sheer physical force or cunning. There is always hope that those who have given themselves to the forces of darkness can be redeemed.

Luke has achieved the final triumph of the mythic hero's journey--he has brought back from his adventures the means for the regeneration of his society.

In the end humanity has triumphed over a repressive, monolithic system, and Luke, through his hero's journey, has opened his heart to compassion and succeeded in following a spiritual path between light and dark, good and evil.

As the Rebels and Ewoks celebrate the destruction of the Death Star and their victory over the Empire, Luke burns his father's armor on a funeral pyre. The spirit of Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, joins the spirits of Ben and Yoda.